A big thanks to orchids117 and BBCcookies (no, I haven't forgotten about you story-wise, and yes I am very grateful for the help you gave me at the beginning :).

Now, on with the story!

Chapter 4

Rose awoke with a shudder. She wasn't sure if it was from the cold air rushing through her lungs or from the realization of her position against the Doctor's chest. She knew one thing for certain, though: her face – the only thing not shielded from the air by the blanket – was freezing. She mumbled a small complaint and snuggled closer to the warm mass next to her. Her red frozen nose brushed lightly against the exposed skin above the Doctor's collar, and the sleeping man startled, letting out a high-pitched yelp. Rose giggled at the noise.

"Good morning to you too," she grinned.

"Oh, Rose, it's just you," he sighed in relief, running a hand through his rebellious hair.

"'Course it's me, you daft alien! Or, I guess you're a stupid ape just like me now, aren't you?" she joked, tongue poking through her teeth.

"Oi! That's time-ape to you!"

"Still superior to us all, I see," she sighed with amusement.

"I wouldn't be the Doctor if I wasn't!"

She stopped to think, then. They had never actually discussed this.

"… Just how alien are you still? You have a human heart and need more sleep, but… what else?"

She looked down nervously, unsure of how he would react to her question; she didn't want to pry or seem rude. However, at the same time, she was a little reluctant to hear the answer. She knew he was essentially the same man as the one who first told her to run, but it kind of stung to hear and see the proof, however miniscule, that he wasn't a Time Lord anymore; that he wasn't the same Doctor.

"Well, I can still see fairly well in the dark. My hearing is superior to humans but not what it used to be; I can't hear your heartbeat anymore when you're nearby."

"You could hear that?"

"Oh, yes!" he smirked and she blushed, knowing that he must have heard it speed up around him all the time. "My tongue still tastes better," he winked mischievously her way, "but it can't quite analyze substances like it used to. And my nose, well, I can still smell the lovely perfume you put on this morning, although to you it would have faded by now. I'm warmer than before." He reached a hand out to her cheek, causing her to blush. "And if I focus really hard, I can feel the blood pumping through your capillaries, raising the temperature of your cheeks by exactly…" he scrunched his eyebrows in concentration for a few moments, "one point seven degrees." He admired her for a moment, her yellow hair framing her flushed pink cheeks.

And just like that, her worries were pushed to the back of her mind. She wanted to cringe at his differences and beg for him to be the way he used to be. But then he'd start looking at her the way he was now and frankly, she didn't quite care anymore who he was as long as he never looked away.

He smiled and continued in a lighter tone. "And let's not even start on my endurance and stamina."

He raised an eyebrow and she blushed further.

"I don't know... you do get tired more easily now. I'm sure I could wear you out somehow..."

"Rose Tyler, if one of us is going to tire first, I'm sure it'll be you, with your weak human muscles."

He poked that one extra sensitive spot on her stomach playfully to make a point.

"Don't," she warned with an involuntary giggle and shivered again, lightly. The Doctor's eyebrows lifted in surprise and he glanced over her shoulder. Rose followed his gaze.

"The fire went out," she remarked.

"Who with?" he asked with an overly innocent smile.

She swatted his arm.

"You know what I mean."

He reluctantly got up and began restarting the fire, grinning the whole time. Once a steady flow of thermal energy was being emitted from the wood and paper, adding to the dim light of the rising sun, Rose sat up. She opened the sleeping bags to form a blanket and wrapped them around her shoulders.

"You hungry?" The Doctor asked, offering her a few frozen items.

"Starving!"

They used a metal vent covering as a grill of sorts and placed the food over the fire to defrost and cook. The bread was fluffy and seemed to melt in her mouth, if that was possible. The large, purple, broccoli-like vegetable tasted like rich tomato soup. It was all very delicious.

Now that she was warm once more and had the satisfied feeling of a full stomach, she could focus on more important matters.

"So, how are we going to find the TARDIS?"

"I was thinking about that, actually. Usually I can just sort of feel her, but she's too far underground; our connection is weakened. But!" He jumped up and strode towards the electronics display opposite the fire. "With all these machine-y odds and ends, I'm sure I could make something to track her. It'll take me fifteen minutes!"

As he stood before her, grinning madly, she couldn't help but tease him some more.

She raised an eyebrow in challenge. "You sure about that? Fifteen minutes?"

"Rose Tyler," he gasped. "Are you questioning my ability to tinker?"

She bit her lip playfully. "Maybe."

"Ten minutes," he offered but she still looked unconvinced.

"And if you can't?"

"If I can't, I'll –"

"You'll be my personal slave for a day."

He thought back to all the times she ever asked him for something, no matter how insignificant. He always agreed; he couldn't help it. He would do anything for those pleading eyes and pouting lips. Anything she wanted, he'd give; always. 'Doctor, can we go shopping?' 'Carry my bags?' 'Can you make me a cuppa?' 'Watch a film with me?' 'Read to me?' 'Paint my nails for me?' He frowned, remembering that last one from after she had sprained her wrist.

"I already am your slave," he mumbled to himself. She stared at him slightly wide-eyed and confused. "Sorry! Did I say that out loud?" His mind raced for a way to change the subject. "But if I win… if I win, you are not allowed to ask me to do anything for a week."

She scoffed.

"That hardly seems fair! A whole week?"

A slow, teasing smile spread across the Doctor's face. "You worried I might win, are you? That's the deal. Take it or leave it."

"Okay, fine. Deal," she huffed dramatically.

After shaking on it, the Doctor decided to get to work. He reached into his inside pocket for his sonic screwdriver and paled. How could he have forgotten?! The guard took it! A look of pure panic crossed his features. How was he going to build his detector without it? Never mind that, how was he going to build it, without his sonic, in under ten minutes?

Rose looked at him innocently. Too innocently.

"Is something wrong, Doctor?"

"Nope!" he replied quickly. "Everything's fine – great! I'll just be getting to work now! Yup, right now. No worries! Ten minutes."

He took a deep breath and dove into the pile of televisions and toasters. He was frantic, yanking at wires and fuses with alarming speed and force. He held the torch precariously between his teeth, illuminating his work area further. His hair was an even more dishevelled mess than usual and he scanned every inch of machinery with wild eyes. He'd occasionally glance back at Rose who was laying back down on the bed, counting quietly to herself, her mind obviously elsewhere.

He chastised himself for every glance, for each one inevitably led to distraction from his pressing task. But the way she laid, arms resting by her head while twirling a strand of hair, lips parted slightly as she whispered strings of numbers, was just so… so… tempting. And then she'd notice him watching her and count just a little bit louder, pushing him back to work.

The time trickled down to one minute and the Doctor worked more confidently. He had only a few wires more to twist into place. He was going to win.

Five

He stripped the ends of the last wires.

Four

He wrapped one end to a small metal knob.

Three

He attached the other end to another wire.

Two

He entered the TARDIS's temporal signature.

One

"Done!"

Rose got up and stared down at the small screen he proudly held. It was beeping softly and there was an arrow pointing them east for four kilometres.

The Doctor grinned smugly. "I guess that means I wi –" His words were cut off by a shrill ringing and a puff of smoke rising from the badly constructed device, which prompted a small coughing fit. "I don't understand! It was working perfectly!" Trying to fix the problem, the Doctor banged the side of the metal structure repeatedly with his hand. Unfortunately, this only caused a few sparks to fly and another wave of smoke to waft to his face.

"Well, man-servant, I think we all know who the winner is here," Rose grinned.

"But – but… Ugh, fine. At least wait until we get back to the TARDIS to begin your mastertude. Is that a word? Master-tude…?" He thought for a moment before tossing the frazzled gadget carelessly behind him with a sigh. "Well, at least that thing wasn't a complete waste. I know exactly what direction to go in! We should leave soon, while the sun is still high."

Rose slowly agreed and they began to bundle themselves up tight. The sleeping bags they had used were converted into makeshift jackets, the Doctor cutting out armholes with a knife he found. It looked beyond ridiculous, but the added warmth it provided was welcomed. They stocked up with a small snack for later, buried deep in the Doctor's trans-dimensional pockets, and slowly began to make their way out of the mall.

Despite the five layers of work gloves they were wearing, greatly restricting their finger movement, they still managed to weave their fingers together by a hair's breadth.

The Doctor took the lead, navigating warily on the rough, unreliable terrain. There was no need for speaking; the action only wasted the precious warm oxygen in their lungs. The sunlight reflected blindingly off the white expanse, the cloudless sky making it even colder.

The first hour of their walk brought them to the edge of the surface city. They could see laid out before them an unending field of white, no shelter or buildings in sight. Out in the open, the wind was much stronger and bit at their skin ruthlessly.

By the second hour, their crude coverings were almost useless. Rose knew her toes were probably turning an ugly shade of blue. The Doctor reassured her they only had one more hour to go, but whether she could make it that far was tentative. The Doctor had taken to practically dragging her along behind him. She stumbled every few steps and he had to physically stop her from collapsing into the snow.

It was when they had only another seven point three minutes to go that her legs gave out for good. Her eyes were nearly drooped shut and she mumbled incoherently beneath her scarf. She was pale beyond belief.

The Doctor felt a wave of panic rush through his heart. They were so close! He could almost taste the TARDIS!

Although worry over Rose overtook every sense in his body, he needed to soldier on. He could worry all he pleased once they were out of this wasteland. So, with stiff arms, he raised her off the ice and walked the last few hundred meters. The area around the hatch was all loose snow, so he waded in – the fluffy flakes at his knees – until his foot hit something decidedly not snow.

He laid Rose carefully next to him and began to pry the door. He kicked and worked at it with all his strength. Rose was even more lost to hypothermia and her heart was at great risk; it had already slowed dangerously. She was barely breathing. His own heart sped up and he pounded the lock with newfound urgency. She can't die!

Each smash of the metal sent a cracking vibration up his limbs, but he was running on so much adrenaline that he barely noticed. Rose, his beautiful Rose, entrusted to him by his other self, wasn't going to make it. What would the Doctor think of him now? He was supposed to keep her safe. She was going to die because of him.

Finally, the door opened. The Doctor gently brought her with him in the tunnel. He moved her quickly but smoothly through the opening leading to the underground city. As with the last tunnel, it was hiding behind a shelving unit, allowing just enough light through to be able to see their immediate surroundings.

The air was a nice hot temperature, perfect for warming her. The Doctor focused on getting her breathing. He frantically performed CPR, but her condition only seemed to worsen under his efforts. His vision blurred, but he refused to give in to the feeling of defeat clawing at him.

"C'mon! Rose, please! I can't do all this without you! Breathe! Breathe!"

And as if hearing his gasped command, she did. She remained on the edge of consciousness, but she was breathing. He laughed. As absurd as it might seem, pearls of laughter escaped him in relief. She was going to be okay.

He quickly discarded his layers of clothing – minus his suit – and placed them all over her, warming her core and head first. He wrapped himself around her as not only another source of heat, but also as a comfort to himself; she was in his arms, safe.

"D-doctor?" she whispered ten minutes later.

He smoothed her hair back. "It's okay. Everything's okay."

"Where am I? What happened?" she asked, rubbing her hands together. Now that her middle was warming, her hands and feet could be tended to.

Without thinking, the Doctor grabbed her wrists and placed her hands under his shirt, against the hot skin of his stomach.

"We're in the tunnel. You got hypothermia. Rose you… you stopped breathing."

She nodded her head in understanding but otherwise didn't react to the information. She closed her eyes and moved closer to him, slowly reviving her frozen limbs. She was still kind of dazed, but she was getting better. He remembered the snack he had put in his pocket, and knew protein would help her. He offered it and she slowly ate it, putting extra effort into swallowing.

After eating, they conversed mindlessly, mostly to keep her mind working. They spoke quietly, but soon they heard a couple of guards walk by and stopped to listen. Their voices were rough from breathing dust their entire lives, but their words were still discernible.

"... I don't know Illos, something's just wrong. I overheard Dr. Bron talking to the Director, and he said that the stars have shifted!"

The second guard made a clicking sound. "I don't see how it matters Klole; Dr. Bron's a nut job. The Surface World just isn't important."

"Well, the way I see it, the Surface is still part of Aabkud and if something's wrong there, something might go wrong here. Anyway, apparently, strange things started happening even before the Surface froze over. Bron was monitoring the animal life, and the Yorfs couldn't find the Southern Continent," the first guard said with sincere concern.

The second guard let out a low hiss. "Ugh. The Yorfs are hideous creatures and deserve to die out."

The Doctor stilled at the comment and Rose glared weakly in the general direction she expected the guard to be.

"Yeah, well, I'm no expert, but I did take a year of natural sciences and I know enough about their migration patterns to be worried. And, Dr. Mapro, from the Lowest Plate, said that down there, they didn't freeze; they're burning. He could barely get the transmission through the solar flares!"

"Didn't he also announce that Lady Jemmix was marrying that economist who..."

As the men walked away, their voices became more and more distant.

Huh. That was a theory the Doctor hadn't considered. If Aabkud's geomagnetic field was anything like that of Earth's, which was very likely, then it was very possible, probable even, that planet's rotational axis was misaligned. He couldn't be certain until he performed a proper scan from the TARDIS, but it seemed that Aabkud was undergoing a magnetic field reversal, which currently had the planet's previous geographic south facing the sun directly, burning, and the planet's previous north facing away, freezing day and night. The stars would seem to have shifted, when really it was just the planet that shifted. Also, the 'Yorf' birds' inner compass would be rendered useless, for the poles were forming chaotically in different places until re-stabilization.

The Doctor turned his attention back to Rose.

"How are you doing? Do you think you're ready to run?"

"Doctor!" she complained in an uncharacteristic whine. "I don't think I could even walk all that way right now. You can go yourself then bring the TARDIS to get me, yeah?" Rose was usually just as enthusiastic as the next girl about adventure, but their time on this planet had really taken its toll on her.

The Doctor reluctantly agreed and told her he'd try not to take too long. With slow, precise movements, he pushed the inopportunely squeaky shelves out of the way, with only minimal rattling of the items stored within them. He glanced once more at Rose and made a gesture with his finger against his lips. She tried to hide a grin as she copied the action, indicating her silence.

The security had been raised since their escape, especially around the military area storing the TARDIS. The Doctor walked as much as he could through the shadows of this seemingly unused passage. Unlike some of the main 'roads', this was illuminated by only the occasional dirty yellow lamp, usually near doorways or intersections. He continued on surreptitiously, pressing his back into the dirt walls whenever someone came by, wishing now more than ever to have his neutral brown suit back.

The Doctor had only his ship's mental presence to guide him, making the exact directions to her location unclear. There were voices coming from up ahead; he knew he was getting close. Soon, he'd be forced out of the comfort of the shadows and into the harsh artificial lighting.

He approached the doorway, still hidden, and peered into the room. It was a small space that seemed a cross between a break room, storage, and a maintenance centre. Unlike the rest of the underground city, this room had dull, grey, metal walls. There were a few men chatting in the corner of the room, but it was mostly empty. The Doctor counted fourteen men, and right in the middle of it all, surrounded by broken tools and sitting in a pool of brown paint, was his TARDIS, completely unharmed. That's my girl!

It was obvious that they had tried to break her, scrape her, and paint her, but the utensils had been worked to shreds and the paint had simply slid off. In front of her sat a group of four men playing cards of some sort. They were all typical soldiers, except the one directly blocking the TARDIS. That man was massive! Not only was he at least seven feet tall, but he looked like he could lift a boulder. Scratch that, he was a boulder. Plus, it certainly didn't help that his face held a sneer awful enough to intimidate even the Daleks, if that were possible.

The Doctor searched through his trans-dimensional pockets for anything to cause a distraction. Amidst the junk, he found an Ignisboom: a small and fairly useless firecracker, only effective in making noise and a few small sparks. He weighed the small item in his hand, preparing to throw.

As soon as the mean-faced guard was busy dealing the next hand, the Doctor launched the Ignisboom across the room. The tiny projectile hit the far wall and immediately began a series of deafening 'pop's and 'crack's, accompanied by small orange specks of light and miniscule puffs of smoke.

The men took immediate action, calling for assistance and looking hurriedly for the source of the noise. The colossal guard jumped, dropping the cards, but he was not as worried as the others. It also seemed that he was the smartest of the group, as his gaze met the Doctor's almost immediately. The soldiers ran around the room trying to stop the noise, but Mr. Giant just leaned back in his chair, still directly in front of the TARDIS, and smirked; a taunting. Never leaving the Doctor's gaze, the man called to one of the other guards and inclined his head in the Doctor's direction, alerting them all to his location. His eyes widened and he turned to run, but two strong arms grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him to the centre of the room. He was completely surrounded by armed men.

Mr. Giant approached him slowly, grotesque sneer ever present. In closer proximity, his yellowing teeth could be easily seen, as well as a menacing scar along his jaw line. "We've been looking for you. Where's that filthy female of yours?"

The Doctor's eyes hardened and he could feel the beginnings of an Oncoming Storm glare coming on. "Oh, she's fine; perfectly safe; no need to worry about her. So, if you'd just let me into that box right there, I'll be on my way!"

"Oh, I don't think so. It's been a while since we've had another species here. We're just dying to learn all there is to know about you!"

The way he spat the words clearly indicated the type of 'getting to know you' the guard had in mind.

The Doctor gulped. "I think I'll pass. I don't know about you, but I very much like my organs inside my body."

He scanned the room discreetly for a solution, and had to hold back a smug smile when he spotted his sonic screwdriver sticking perilously out of a nearby soldier's pocket. Mr. Giant approached him again, another man handing him a syringe filled with an opaque white liquid, no doubt something to tranquilize him, if not kill him. He flicked the instrument and squirted a small bubble out of the needle. Mr. Giant eyed the Doctor with a sick leer and a twinkle in his eye. His rank breath could almost be felt on the Doctor's face. It was time. He had to get out. Now.

He sprang into action, snatching his screwdriver and pointing it at the power panel. It sparked and the lights went out, immediately causing chaos and confusion in the room. The Doctor's eyes narrowed in on the TARDIS, making her all he could see. He sprinted towards her with all his might, easily bypassing anyone in his way. By the time the emergency generator kicked in, the Doctor already had the key in the door. Mr. Giant saw him and screeched an earsplitting battle cry, running at him full speed, needle readily pinched between his grimy fingers.

The Time Lord slipped through the doors. He winced and stroked his TARDIS as he heard the giant angry body slam into her closed doors and rebound painfully.

"Sorry, Old Girl! Did he hurt you?" he cooed affectionately. She hummed happily in response, delighted at his return. "One more stop!"

He put in the coordinates and through the view screen he watched the astounded faces of the men outside as the TARDIS slowly disappeared. The doors opened as soon as he had landed and Rose walked in.

Upon seeing her, the Doctor erupted in unconcealed laughter. The form in front of him was giant and more composed of blanket and clothing than of Rose. She glared, trying very unsuccessfully to remove the layers and soon giving up.

"You mind helpin' me? I'm all tangled!"

The Doctor tried to contain himself and smiled apologetically. "Of course. Just let me get us out of here first."

As soon as he was back in space, hovering above what was left of the planet's magnetosphere, he rushed to her.

"Ugh!" Rose cried out with frustration. "I just wanna take a bath and relax!"

He led her to one of the beautiful spa rooms and began helping her with the many layers of clothing. The first four layers were really tangled and he had to work hard to remove them. And then once he reached the last four, he knew she could manage on her own, but he couldn't quite bring himself to stop peeling the clothes off her body. And she was letting him. He stopped once he got down to one layer – just her vest and jeans – and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I think you can, uh, take it from here…?"

She grinned at the way he looked pointedly away from her, nervously.

"Of course. Thank you, Doctor," she said as professionally as she could.

He cleared his throat. "Right. I'll just… go." He turned to leave but she called him back. "Yes, Rose?"

"You mind making me a cuppa for when I'm done? Oh, and I'd love a foot rub. Now that I think of it, my back is pretty sore too; those tunnels were not comfortable. And maybe in the meantime, you could tidy my room up a bit? That would be great, thanks."

He stared at her, confused, but then remembered their bet. He groaned. "Will that be all, Miss Tyler?"

Rose gave him her signature grin. "For now."

Once she was refreshed and changed into her most comfortable clothing, she met the Doctor in the library, where she sat with her feet in his lap and warm tea at her lips.

"So, did you figure out what was wrong with the planet in the end?"

The Doctor's eyes lit up. "Yup! Simple geomagnetic reversal of the magnetic north and magnetic south. They would've been fine on their own eventually, but while you were getting dressed I sped up the process a little."

She raised an eyebrow. "And how much is 'a little'?"

"Oh… five thousand years? Give or take a few centuries. The thing is, though, I can't figure out what caused the reversal. I've scanned it with everything the TARDIS has, but nothing seems to have provoked this. It's just like what happened on Daikuroda, I put a band-aid on the symptom, but I have no idea what the problem is…"

Rose bit her lip. "You think maybe they're… I dunno… connected or somethin'?"

"… Nah!"

Oh, naive, oblivious Doctor...

Thoughts, predictions, comments? Yes? No? Maybe?

:)